Would you leave your car doors unlocked with a $50 bill on the dashboard?
Then why on earth wouldn’t you beef up security on your WordPress website?
Security is sometimes something we take for granted. We rely on the honesty of other human beings in our midst. In the world of the Internet, you can’t take the goodness of humanity for granted. Hackers gonna hack. It’s a fun, full-time job for them. And it’s all automated these days.
Here are 3 simple things you can do to increase security on your website:
Remove "Admin" as one of the usernames in your database.
This is easiest to do right during set up of your WordPress installation. A quick look at the video provided by WP101 shows how to install WordPress. At the point where you’re setting up the username and password, take a moment to change the “admin” and fill in your own password. You’ll see the spot about 53 seconds into the video. Taking this small precaution is just like removing the spare set of keys to your car.
Change the log in link from yoursite.com/wp-admin to something else; anything else!
By default, when WordPress is set up, the default admin login page is set to your website address with the /wp-admin extension. This is like using a bicycle lock to keep thieves out of your car. Hackers know this default and they send out their nasty bots to try and hit on this spot in your website to break in. Their little bots work hard trying to break in, looking for a chink in your armour and trying to guess the username and password to get into your website. Change that door, add a deadbolt and take away the ability to try to steal your car with stolen copies of spare keys! Be creative; call it yoursite.com/catsanddogs, or anything you like that will be memorable to you. Just don’t leave it at the default.
Use a security plugin
If you’ve already set up your website and you didn’t do those things, there’s a simple way to walk through changing those open doors to locked doors using a plugin called All-in-One WordPress Security. It’s a great plugin that takes you step by step through increasing security on your site and provides you feedback and recommendations along the way.
It helps to create a firewall, change your admin log in page, change your database prefix and gives great explanations about why each step is a good idea. You’ll even have the ability to block the IP’s of those nasty bots that keep hitting on your site.
Take a look at the video for more detailed information.
If you’re seeing lots of blocked malicious login attempts on your site, it’s time to beef up your security!
Orange Ambition can help you set up your website or teach you how to do it yourself. We offer one-on-one training as well as website design consultations to help you build your dream website. Give us a call today or book an appointment.
